Small Island Tickets

By: adapted by Helen Edmundson, based on the novel by Andrea Levy
Songs by: Benjamin Kwasi Burrell
Director: Rufus Norris
Cast list: Leonie Elliott, Mirren Mack, Martin Hutson, Leemore Marrett Jr., Elliot Barnes-Worrell, Chereen Buckley, Cavan Clarke, Adam Ewan, David Fielder, Amy Forrest, Andrew Frame, Stephanie Jacob, Sandra James-Young, CJ Johnson, Rebecca Lee, Rachel Lumberg, Alicia McKenzie, Daniel Norford, Tom Page, David Webber, Marcel White, Flo Wilson, Asad-Shareef Muhammad, Theo-Oliver Townsend, Nasri Thompson, Ta’lia Harvey, Hosanna-Reine Grimwade and Renee Hart
Design: Katrina Lindsay
Lighting: Paul Anderson
Costume: Katrina Lindsay
Choreography: Coral Messam
Sound: Ian Dickinson for Autograph

Andrea Levy’s epic novel Small Island is now a three-hour play. The monumental production returns to the National Theatre for an encore run in spring 2022. Book Small Island tickets in London on TodayTix.

The Small Island play follows the lives of Jamaicans who moved from the Caribbean to the United Kingdom, with the action set in World War Two and through the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush in 1948. During the play, central characters all try and break away from their past lives in the hopes of a better future, while acknowledging their upbringings. Queenie Bligh, named after Queen Victoria and “Blighty” Britain tries to escape her roots, while Hortense and Gilbert dream of leaving rural Jamaica behind in the hopes of becoming teachers and lawyers. Small Island characters all want to inspire future generations and continue to educate children, but when they realise the stubborn reality of post-war Britain, will the small island become even smaller?

Helen Edmundson adapts Small Island in London for the stage, and she’s joined by Rufus Norris who directs the play. The production explores the intricate shared histories of Jamaica and the United Kingdom, and how this affects society today.

Book Small Island tickets in London on TodayTix.

What to Watch For

• Small Island explores the lives of the Jamaican diaspora through World War Two and beyond. 1948 marked an important year as HMT Empire Windrush docked in the United Kingdom.
• The “Windrush Generation” refers to people who moved from the Caribbean to Britain from 1948 to 1970. It’s estimated around 500,000 people are part of the “Windrush Generation.”
• Small Island is Andrea Levy’s fourth novel. Her previous novels include Every Light in the House Burnin′, Never Far from Nowhere, and Fruit of the Lemon. Small Island is Levy’s most-successful novel, winning three awards including the Orange Prize for Fiction.
• The Small Island London play was at the National Theatre in 2019.